


Charade

by IAmNotOneOfThem



Category: LazyTown
Genre: ASL, American Sign Language, Arguably sentient elven technology, Fluff, M/M, Stephanie totally reads fanfiction, non-verbal Robbie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-09-08 03:01:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8827906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IAmNotOneOfThem/pseuds/IAmNotOneOfThem
Summary: “So, shall we do this? You teaching me the gestures?”Sportacus offers to learn sign language so he can communicate with Robbie. He gets more out of it than he expected.   or: Both Robbie and Sportacus are oblivious and Stephanie is too damn smart for her age.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Spell-N-Speak](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8794750) by [gayreclinetime](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gayreclinetime/pseuds/gayreclinetime). 



> I do not personally know ASL or any other kind of sign language. All gestures were taken from internet sources.  
> This is not beta-read.

Sportacus’ crystal wasn’t beeping, but still, the hero pulled open the hatch and jumped down the pipe, landing on his feet in Robbie’s lair.

If asked, he wouldn’t be able to tell why exactly he had come here, but something, a feeling, told him he was needed.

He hadn’t seen Robbie all day which, had it happened a few weeks ago, wouldn’t have made Sportacus blink, but worried him now. Even after thinking hard, the hero couldn’t remember a day he hadn’t at least exchanged a handful of words with the other man, hadn’t at least seen him once. They’ve grown closer than they had been before, so Robbie not showing up at all made Sportacus wonder whether something was wrong.

It didn’t seem that way upon first glance, Sportacus thought as he looked around the lair, but when his eyes fell on Robbie’s curled-up form in his orange, fuzzy chair, concern flared up in his chest.

It wasn’t the first time he’d come to the lair just to find Robbie in his chair, but even when he wasn’t doing anything, Robbie looked somewhat lively, if only in the glare he usually directed at Sportacus and the annoyed words the villain shot at him.

Right now, Robbie was completely silent. He had barely reacted when Sportacus had landed in front of him, only raising his eyebrow tiredly. To Sportacus, he looked exhausted, downright tired, with dark circles under his eyes. There was something sad in them, the grey-blue colour somewhat dulled.

Sportacus’ crystal began beeping. He was almost tempted to scold it for not reacting earlier, but pushed that thought aside.

The hero did a cartwheel until he stood right in front of Robbie’s chair. “Is something wrong, Robbie? You look tired, haven’t you been sleeping well? I can help you with that, if you’d like. Where do I turn off the light here? Do you have sou-“

A hit to his arm made Sportacus pause. He looked down at Robbie who was glaring, then, strangely enough, held a hand up, pointed two of his fingers at Sportacus, turned them back to point at his own eyes and raised an eyebrow. Even Sportacus understood what the villain wanted and watched intently.

Apparently satisfied to be the centre of attention, Robbie nodded. Then, he lifted his right hand and clutched it into a fist, before extending his index finger, thumb and middle-finger pressed together. Without giving Sportacus any time to figure out what that was supposed to mean, Robbie formed his hand into a zero or an ‘O’, crossed his fingers as if he was lying, clutched his hand into a fist again and emphasised that movement by shaking the hand.

Sportacus stared, blankly. That didn’t seem to deter Robbie, who formed a ‘c’ with his hand, going over to his index and middle finger being extended, and finally a fist again.

Then the villain raised an eyebrow.

Sportacus continued staring. He blinked, went over the motions again, but could only make sense of two of them – c and o – and even then, he didn’t know what that was supposed to tell him.

Robbie growled and threw his hands up in annoyance. He pointed at himself, slid a finger over his closed mouth and shook his head.

Sportacus opened his mouth in an ‘oh’. Robbie didn’t want to talk? Couldn’t talk? Was he sick? Maybe he had a sore throat? It was quite chilly in the villain’s lair; with a diet as unhealthy and lacking in vitamin as Robbie’s, it wouldn’t surprise Sportacus if he got sick on a regular basis. His immune system must have been all but non-existent.

“Does your throat hurt? I can get you some tea from the ship, if you’d like! It would also help if you ate fruits more regularly, because of the vitamins, you know?”

If looks could kill, Sportacus would have dropped dead. Sportacus frowned at the pure and utter contempt in Robbie’s eyes, a gaze that said Robbie wondered whether the universe enjoyed torturing him so much it had sent Sportacus after him.

The villain shook his head.

“You don’t want fruit?” Robbie shook his head, then made a gesture with his hand, beckoning Sportacus to continue. Sportacus’ frown deepened. “You don’t want tea?” Again, the shake of his head and the gesture. “Your throat doesn’t hurt!” Sportacus exclaimed cheerfully, proud that he had figured it out.

Robbie just stared blankly. Sportacus dropped his enthusiasm, only because he worried Robbie might throw something at him.

If he wasn’t sick, why wasn’t he talking?

Sportacus put a finger on his chin to think, ignoring the snort that came from Robbie’s direction. “Have I done something wrong?” Robbie’s eyebrow rose so high it nearly disappeared in his hair. Sportacus sighed. “Alright, have I done something wrong to make you stop talking to me?” Robbie shook his head. “Then what is it? Why aren’t you talking?”

Robbie rolled his eyes again. He pointed at Sportacus, then, movement exaggerated, nodded and shook his head.

It took Sportacus a few moments to get what Robbie was hinting at and even then he wasn’t sure if he had really got it, or was simply grasping at straws. “You want me to ask yes-or-no questions.”

Robbie’s expression said something along the lines of _I’m proud of you for understanding something simple as that_ , the sarcasm so perfectly conveyed Sportacus could nearly hear Robbie’s voice saying it in his head.

Sportacus shuffled on his feet and thought about what to ask. “Is there a reason you’re not talking?” Robbie shook his head. “Can you simply not talk or do you not want to?” Robbie shrugged. “Is there something I can do to help?” Robbie shook his head again.

Sportacus made a noise somewhere between a frustrated groan and a whine.

If there was one thing he hated – and there weren’t many things Sportacus disliked enough to justify using that word – it was being unable to help. Being presented with a problem, Sportacus tried everything in his power and beyond that to solve it.

There was little he hated more than being unable to help, because that made him feel like a failure, like he didn’t deserve to call himself a hero, didn’t deserve the title. He was there to help; if he couldn’t do that, he wasn’t good enough.

Lips drawn into a thin, white line, Sportacus tried to think of a solution, unwilling to accept Robbie’s answer. There had to be something he could do to help. There always was a way.

He looked around the lair, searching for anything that he could use. His first thought was to coax Robbie into talking, but if the villain didn’t want to, he wouldn’t force him into it either. Maybe he’d find a piece of paper lying around for Robbie to write on, but his eyes neither found a pen nor something to write on. Not to mention he couldn’t be sure Robbie would want to write, given he was using his hands for gesticulating.

Sportacus perked up.

 ** _Gesticulating_**.

That was it!

He turned back to Robbie, who was munching on a piece of popcorn without much enthusiasm. When Robbie noticed Sportacus was literally bouncing on his feet, he got a look of dread and despair that translated into _why me_.

Sportacus resolutely ignored it. “The hand gestures you were making before, do they have a meaning?” Robbie gave him an annoyed look, which Sportacus took as affirmation. “Can you teach me?”

Robbie frowned at him and tilted his head in a why. He seemed genuinely confused, though Sportacus could read something in his eyes, something rawer he couldn’t quite comprehend. Sportacus smiled warmly and reassuringly.

“Is this the first time you couldn’t or didn’t want to talk, or has it happened before?” Robbie glared. Sportacus quickly corrected himself. “Has this happened before?” At Robbie’s nod, Sportacus’ smile widened into a grin. “So learning the meaning of the gestures and how to use them myself would mean I could talk to you when you’re not talking!”

Robbie’s gaze softened. His eyes widened, glimmering with what Sportacus realised were tears. His mouth dropped open, fingers twitching, and he inhaled sharply. Sportacus opened his mouth to apologise, thinking he had upset Robbie with his words, but then it hit him.

“Has no one ever offered to learn so they could communicate with you?” He asked in surprise.

Robbie hesitated, but then nodded, averting his gaze. Sportacus’ heart swelled in his chest at the sight. Without thinking, he reached out, hand falling on Robbie’s knee to squeeze it. If it was even possible, Robbie tensed more, for the briefest of moments, before he slowly relaxed. Sportacus smiled at him, squeezed again and then let go.

“So, shall we do this? You teaching me the gestures?”

Robbie turned his head in Sportacus’ direction and the hero tried not to look too anxious. He could easily say no and be done with it, but Sportacus hoped he would give it a shot. The thought of Robbie hiding away in his lair because he couldn’t talk to anyone made something in Sportacus’ heart twinge.

He could sympathise, to some extent, with not being able to communicate. When he had started learning English, he had often been frustrated, because it was difficult and sometimes people didn’t understand regardless of how hard he had tried. But knowing the language, just not being able to speak, he couldn’t imagine how that must feel.

Sportacus schooled his face into something neutral, hiding his inner turmoil behind a soft smile and hopeful eyes.

He didn’t just want Robbie to agree to his plan so he had someone to talk to. That might have been the main motivation behind Sportacus’ offer, but learning the gestures would take time; time the two of them spent together, away from the children.

Just him and Robbie, Sportacus thought, glad the tips of his ears were hidden under his hat, as he could feel them heat up in a blush.

His crush on the town’s villain wasn’t exactly a secret, given the knowing looks Stephanie sometimes threw in his direction, but Robbie had not seemed to notice yet, which Sportacus was thankful for. It was silly, anyway, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t take advantage of the situation. He wasn’t doing anything wrong or selfish; he just wanted to spend some time with Robbie.

For that to happen, though, Robbie needed to say yes.

Sportacus tried not to stare too hard, but the amount of time it took Robbie to find a reply was disconcerting. He shuffled from one foot to the other, trying not to let his nervousness show, but, in his opinion, doing a bad job at that.

If Robbie continued thinking and letting him wait, Sportacus’ crystal might start beeping at him because of how rapidly his heart was racing in his chest. But finally, **_finally_** , Robbie nodded and smiled, the corners of his mouths tugging upwards.

Sportacus barely succeeded in swallowing down the cry of joy that wanted to leave his mouth. He settled for something less excessive and grinned brightly, giving the thumbs up. “Yes,” Sportacus said. His smile faltered when Robbie shook his head, then made a gesture with his hand. “Huh?”

Robbie rolled his eyes, but repeated what he had just done. His hand clenched to a fist, he mimicked knocking on a table three times.

Sportacus repeated the gesture. “What does it mean?”

Robbie pointed at his own head and nodded. He continued doing so until Sportacus got it and all but shouted “Yes!”. The villain cringed and glared at him, but nodded for a final time. Then he shook his head and made a new gesture. He started with his thumb, index and middle finger extended, the other two bent towards the palm, then brought the three fingers together. Sportacus repeated. “No?” Robbie nodded.

For the first time since asking to learn what the gestures meant, Sportacus wondered whether he could do this. They seemed easy enough, but he had never been good at sitting still and _learning_. But then he remembered the surprised look in Robbie’s eyes and thought no matter how hard it would be, he would see this through, if only to see Robbie smile at him like that again.

\---

Sportacus banged his head on the table and groaned.

“There’s no way I can do this,” he said to no one in particular, because he was alone, up in his airship, trying to make his hands cooperate.

When it came to sports, there was little he couldn’t do, from tennis to soccer, basketball and aerobics. He thought of himself as someone who was good with people too, but everyone had their weaknesses.

Sportacus’ happened to be sitting still and focusing on a task that didn’t involve being active.

Robbie hadn’t shown him many gestures, only those that represented letters, but trying to remember every one of them and the fine nuances that differentiated one from another – the gesture for ‘s’, for example, was a fist with the thumb on the outside, while ‘t’ had the thumb tucked under the index finger – was more difficult than Sportacus would have expected.

He wasn’t one for small movements; he couldn’t think of a sport that had ever required him to do such deliberate movements with his hands and individual fingers.

The crystal vibrated against his chest. Sportacus lifted his head to glare at it, but it continued radiating in palpable amusement about his situation. “Zip it,” he said. “I’m suffering enough already, don’t you agree?”

The crystal beeped gleefully and Sportacus considered throwing it out of the airship.

He could count the times he had ever given up on one hand, because the thing he hated most, right after being unable to help, is having to admit defeat. Throughout his life there had been a few instances of challenges presenting themselves that seemed downright impossible, but he had never let that stop him from trying his best. He strongly believed that you could do anything, as long as you believed in yourself and what you were doing.

Sportacus looked at his hands and let out a long breath. Easier said than done.

After returning from Robbie’s lair to his ship, Sportacus had immediately got to work. In the beginning, he had tried going through the gestures while doing sit-ups, then while doing push-ups in a handstand, but had soon realised he couldn’t multi-task. The gestures required his full attention.

He could sit still for maybe five minutes before he started bouncing his leg. Five more minutes until he physically could not do nothing any longer.

The elf leant back in his seat and looked up at the ceiling. He imagined Robbie sitting in the darkness and isolation of his lair, watching TV, all alone, and his motivation came back.

Sportacus went through the gestures he could remember because they were the easiest. ‘A’ was a fist with the thumb at the side, ‘c’ mimicked the letter’s shape, ‘g’ was his index finger pointed and his thumb pressed against it, ‘o’ was a circle, ‘u’ was two fingers held up pressed together, while ‘v’ was a piece sign and ‘w’ were three fingers.

He was almost one hundred percent sure he had never done so complicated and intricate movements with his fingers before. When Robbie had demonstrated each gesture, it had looked so effortless, so easy and elegant, his thin, long fingers forming the shapes in fluid motions. Sportacus had tried to pay attention to what he was doing, even if the crystal wouldn’t believe him, but it had been difficult, because it had been strangely enticing, almost hypnotising, to watch the fingers move almost as if in a dance.

It hadn’t been hard to believe Robbie was an excellent pianist with graceful fingers like that. Sportacus’ following thoughts had not been as innocent as that, having left him blushing and thankful that Robbie hadn’t noticed.

Sportacus was almost thankful when his crystal began beeping to indicate someone was in danger. He’d go back to studying later, right after he had saved whoever was in danger. The crystal vibrated against his chest in mocking disbelief.

Once Sportacus had plucked the kitten off the branch it had got stuck on this time, Sportacus sat down on a nearby bench, hoping the lack of gear in his immediate vicinity would prevent him from getting distracted.

He had not counted on Stephanie showing up with a basketball in her hand.

“Hi Sportacus!” Stephanie’s gaze fell on Sportacus’ hand, which was currently trying to remember what the gesture for ‘m’ was. “What are you doing?”

Sportacus hesitated. “I’m… doing hand gymnastics?” He had never been a good liar; he was too honest, too nice, so when he did try, people could usually see right through him. Stephanie gave him a look that made Sportacus question she really was only eight years old, because it made him squirm as if their roles and ages were reversed. “It’s not my place to tell, Stephanie.”

Robbie most likely didn’t want anyone to know there, sometimes, were periods of time when he didn’t talk at all.

“To me it looks like sign language,” Stephanie said, flopping down on the bench next to him. At Sportacus’ surprised look, she shrugged. “At my old school there was a boy whose sister couldn’t hear anything, so they all learnt sign language so they could talk. He taught us a few gestures!”

“That’s cool!” Sportacus smiled. “What did he teach you?”

Stephanie tilted her head thoughtfully and hummed. “We kind of asked him how you say this-and-that and he showed us. I only remember some of them, though… Like ‘school’.” Stephanie held both of her hands up, the left below her right with the palms turned towards each other, then brought her down twice as if to clap. “Or ‘sister’. Oh, we also asked to learn a few sentences!”

“Such as?” Sportacus asked curiously.

Stephanie closed her eyes to think, forehead furrowed in concentration. “Hmm… basic things? I remember ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’.” Sportacus watched her make a movement like a salute, then bent her fingers in a wave. “Though I remember a sign that I think you might like.”

“What is it?”

Stephanie turned to Sportacus and held up one hand. He recognised the individual parts that made up the sign – an ‘I’, pinkie finger extended; ‘L’, index and thumb in an ‘L’-shape and ‘Y’, pinkie and thumb – but didn’t know what it meant. He looked at her curiously, though parts of him wondered why she was grinning like that.

“Can you guess what it means?” Stephanie asked. The warning bells in Sportacus’ head went off; she always got that look when she was planning something. Sportacus shook his head; he had no idea what ‘ILY’ was supposed to be. Stephanie chuckled. “It means I love you. I thought you might like to surprise Robbie with that.”

Sportacus’ thoughts came to a standstill.

He stared, hoping he had misunderstood, but Stephanie just grinned more widely, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.

Sportacus opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. His mind was blank and all he could do was gape.

Stephanie giggled. “I made you speechless!” She looked triumphant and clasped her hands together. “What part are you shocked about?” When Sportacus continued to stare wordlessly, she fondly rolled her eyes. “Your crush on Robbie is pretty obvious, Sportacus. Of course everyone but Robbie himself knows! For someone so smart, he is really bad with social stuff.”

Sportacus managed to close his mouth and shook his head to sort out his thoughts. That Stephanie had known about his crush didn’t come as much as a surprise than the rest. She was very observant, for someone her age. He worried how it was going to be once she was older.

With the same motion Robbie had used in their conversation, Sportacus motioned Stephanie to continue. She did, after another giggling fit. “As for the signing, I just figured you were learning for Robbie? It hasn’t happened that often, but I’ve tried talking to him once or twice and he didn’t reply. Normally he’d just tell us to leave him alone and he didn’t look sick, so I thought maybe sometimes he doesn’t feel like talking and has learnt sign language to speak anyway?” Stephanie shrugged. “I didn’t want to ask. It’s none of my business and if he doesn’t want anyone to know…”

Sportacus felt himself smile. “That’s very considerate of you,” he managed, his brain finally working again. “I believe he won’t mind me confirm your theory. I only found out earlier today. You’re a clever girl, Stephanie.”

The little girl beamed at him. “Thank you.” Her face suddenly became serious. She leant forward to whisper. “Are you going to tell him you like him?”

“I’m…” Sportacus trailed off. Stephanie raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t think he likes me back.”

“Of course he does!” Stephanie wrapped a hand around Sportacus’ arm and tugged at it. Automatically, Sportacus let her pull him to his feet. She shoved at him gently. “I know sometimes you are really oblivious, but everyone with a pair of eyes can see how much he likes you. Trust me with this! I bet he’s just too nervous and scared to make the first step himself!”

“But-“

“No buts,” Stephanie said, shoving him again. “He likes you, you like him, where’s the problem? If neither of you has the courage to say something, you’ll both be sad and dance around each other. Time you could have spent much better!” 

Sportacus smiled at how serious she sounded. “Here I thought I was good with people, but you’re much better.”

“People are just really bad with stuff like that when it comes to themselves,” Stephanie said matter-of-factly. “That’s normal. Now that you know he likes you back, you can go and talk to him! Show him the sign I taught you!”

“Isn’t that a bit bold, saying I love him just like that?”

Stephanie stepped in front of Sportacus, hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. She shook her head vehemently. “If he didn’t notice you are in love with him until now, nothing less than the blunt truth will work.”

Sportacus looked down at her and smiled. “How do you know all of that?”

A faint pink blush gave Stephanie’s cheeks the same colour as her hair and clothes. She shuffled from one foot to the other and shrugged. “I read a lot,” she simply said, embarrassed.

Sportacus reached down to ruffle her hair and gave her the thumbs up. “Thank you for your advice!” He said. “I’ll go talk to Robbie.”

“Promise.”

He held up his hand. “I promise.”

“Promise you’ll talk to him right away unless there’s an emergency.”

“I promise.”

Stephanie gave him an assessing look that could make the meanest and toughest grown-ups tremble in nervousness, before nodding. Apparently he had passed her test, because she turned around and picked up her basketball again. “I wanted to ask you to come play with us, but I’ll tell the others you’re busy.”

Sportacus got the first syllable of his protest out before Stephanie’s glare shut him up again. The crystal vibrated in a mixture of amusement and fondness, apparently liking her.

It made Sportacus imagine what the two of them together would be like. The thought made him shudder.

“No excuses, go.” Stephanie made a ‘shoo’ motion with her hand, then ran off, shouting something at the other children. Sportacus watched her leave and sighed.

He looked down at the crystal with hopeful eyes. “Let there be an emergency, please?” For once, it stayed silent. Sportacus groaned in frustration. “Please? I know I promised but…”

But he didn’t know whether he could really do this. Stephanie was observant, but maybe she was imagining things? He had nothing but her word to assure him Robbie liked him back. And even if Robbie liked him, it didn’t necessarily mean he _liked_ Sportacus the way Sportacus liked him.

Sportacus longingly looked towards the playground, where he could see the children get ready for a match. It was tempting to just go join them instead of having to gather the courage he’d need for confessing to Robbie, but Stephanie would probably chew him out for trying to weasel his way out of the promise he had made.

He didn’t plan on _breaking_ his promise, not exactly. Just…

The thought of pouring out his heart to the villain, to leave himself open and vulnerable, made Sportacus feel hot and cold all over. Robbie wouldn’t make fun of him for his feelings – that, at least, was what Sportacus hoped – but things wouldn’t be the same. They had got closer lately, had become something Sportacus would call very good friends, if not more. He didn’t want to destroy that with one-sided, unreturned affection.

Sportacus sunk back down on the bench and played with his moustache.

“I don’t know what I should do,” he mumbled, absently rubbing a finger over his crystal. “What if she is wrong? What if she is right and I, because I think she might be wrong, don’t do anything about it? What if-“

The loud beeping of the crystal pulled Sportacus from his thoughts. He jumped to his feet, eyes darting around from the playground to Ms. Busybody’s garden, but couldn’t find anyone who was in danger. The crystal beeped more loudly, almost annoyed.

It took Sportacus a few moments to realise it was him who was in trouble.

He looked down at the crystal, watched its light pulse rhythmically, and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath, counted to ten, then backflipped towards Robbie’s lair.

So often had he tried to encourage the children to seize every chance, it would be wrong not to listen to his own advice. How could he tell them everything was possible as long as they were confident, continued trying and didn’t let setbacks and failures dishearten them, if he didn’t believe in that himself?

With those words in mind, Sportacus made his way to the cow billboard. Part of him almost hoped he’d find the hatch closed, but it moved without problem, granting access to the pipe that led to Robbie’s home.

Sportacus took a deep breath, then jumped down.

He stuck the landing, as always, and smoothened down his vest.

Robbie was in his orange chair, legs drawn up and the bowl of popcorn, still as full as it had been when Sportacus left, on his knees. At first Sportacus thought he hadn’t seen him, but then Robbie lifted a hand in a wave and turned his head, one eyebrow raised in an arch.

In the silence around them, Sportacus’ heartbeat was so loud he worried Robbie heard it too.

“Hi,” Sportacus said after a few moments of trying not to panic, hand lifted in the salute Stephanie had shown him before he tried to fingerspell the villain’s name.

If Robbie noticed Sportacus had just used a sign Robbie hadn’t taught him yet, he didn’t comment. He merely huffed and pointed at his ears before bringing up his hands, index fingers and thumbs together as if about to snap his fingers. It looked like he was drawing pointed ears into the air.

Before Sportacus could ask what it meant, Robbie already threw a piece of popcorn into his mouth, chewing unenthusiastically. He was watching Sportacus from the corner of his eyes, making the elf squirm. It was clear Robbie wanted to know what he was doing here, but Sportacus didn’t know how to start, where to begin.

He couldn’t just… get right on with it, could he? That would be rude. Not to mention he’d overwhelm Robbie, not giving him a warning and just spilling like that. No, he’d ease his way towards the topic. That way, he could also test whether Robbie liked him too, or if the thing between them was just a friendship.

His resolutions were destroyed when Robbie let out a long, sad sigh, expression so depressed that Sportacus’ heart ached. He opened his mouth to say something, anything to distract Robbie from whatever thoughts were downing his mood, and the first thing that came to mind was: “I want to show you something.”

That got Robbie’s attention right away. He looked up and cocked his eyebrow in a way that said _what are you going to annoy me with now_ , but his eyes were curious, completely focused on Sportacus.

The elf gulped.

He shuffled closer until he was only a few inches away from Robbie, then slowly brought his fingers into position, thumb, pinkie and index extended.

When he lifted his hand to show Robbie, the villain paled visibly. He looked frozen in place, eyes comically wide, so many emotions in them that Sportacus wouldn’t be able to identify even one. Sportacus worried his lower lip between his teeth. He wanted to hide his hand, but suddenly Robbie reached out and wrapped his fingers around Sportacus’ wrist, stopping him.

Sportacus didn’t need to be able to read lips to understand the silent question Robbie asked – _what_.

Sportacus’ ears turned pink. He cleared his throat nervously. “I…,” he began, unsure of what to say, but then the words were bubbling out of him. “I’ve had a crush on you for a while now, but never thought you might feel the same, because you always act like you hate me. But lately we’ve got kind of closer and apparently Stephanie noticed my crush because she told me you feel the same and made me promise I’d show you the sign and confess my feelings and-“

A hand on his mouth made Sportacus shut up. He looked wide-eyed at Robbie, but nodded when the villain put a finger on his lips to tell him to keep quiet. Robbie removed his hand again and leant backwards, looking thoughtful. After what, to Sportacus, had felt like ages, he finally said something.

He finger-spelled Pinkie, then ‘knows’, all while having a questioning look on his face.

It took Sportacus a few moments to understand what he was trying to say. “I didn’t tell her, I promise! She figured it out on her own and saw me practising some signs and taught me what ‘I love you’ means. I had to promise her I would go and tell you right away; if she hadn’t I might never have had the courage.” Sportacus took what had supposed to be a calming breath, but he was still as nervous as he had been before. He continued babbling. “I understand you might not feel the same and she was just misinterpreting things, and I swear I won’t be sad if you reject my feelings. I mean, of course I’d be sad, but that doesn’t mean you should-“

Whatever he had meant to say was gone when Robbie’s lips found his own.

For a few moments, Sportacus was frozen in surprise, but then Robbie was slowly pulling away again and that was the last thing Sportacus wanted, so he leant forward to stop him.

The kiss was slow, sweet and unsure, both of them testing the waters. Somewhere in the middle Sportacus had closed his eyes, one of his hands coming up to gently cup Robbie’s cheek, while Robbie had pulled Sportacus closer by his vest. Apparently, Sportacus realised when they broke apart to breathe, somewhere in the middle he had ended joining Robbie on the orange chair, his knees on either side of Robbie’s legs, all but straddling him.

Robbie hadn’t seemed to realise at first, either, but when he did his pupils dilated and his cheeks turned pink in a blush.

 Sportacus assessed the situation and decided he didn’t mind, not one bit.

“Does that mean you like me too?” He asked, breathless and eyes wide, his whole body vibrating with excitement and hope.

Robbie lifted one of his hands and formed a sign Sportacus recognised immediately, even though he had only learnt it minutes ago. The elf beamed, smiling so hard his whole face lit up, and leant down to capture Robbie’s lips in another kiss, letting himself be pulled closer by arms that wrapped around his neck.

“I love you,” he whispered against Robbie’s lips.

Robbie’s lips moved and even though no noise left his mouth, Sportacus knew exactly what he was saying.

\--

 “You were right,” Sportacus said to Stephanie as he met her on the playground, moments before the others would arrive.

Stephanie gave him **_the look_**. “Of course I was,” she huffed.

Before he could say anything, she already turned around and ran towards Trixie, each of her steps a happy bounce.

The crystal vibrated against Sportacus’ chest like it was laughing. “Shut up,” he said quietly, so the children wouldn’t hear, but smiled and joined them.

“What are we playing today?” Ziggy asked the others, who almost immediately began to argue. Stephanie wanted to play soccer, while Trixie wanted to do basketball, and the other three each had different wishes as well.

As they argued, Sportacus turned his head, smiling brightly as he saw a splotch of purple hiding a bit further away. He already had lifted his arm halfway to wave when an idea crossed his mind.

Turning to the children, while gesturing for Robbie to join them, Sportacus intervened. “I have an idea,” he said, smirking at their curious faces. He waited to build suspension, before leaning forward, as if telling them a big secret. “How about charade?”


End file.
